Prior to the launch of the global positioning satellite (GPS) system, persons traveling on foot or by vehicle were effectively limited in their direction-finding means to a compass. Initially designed by the United States Departments of Defense and Transportation for military use only, the GPS system first became available on a subscription-like basis in 1978. Driven by demands for more accurate navigation, especially among commercial airlines, those restrictions were relaxed during the mid 1980's. That opening of the GPS system occurred as more satellites were launched, enabling greater accuracy for determining location. Good discussions of the workings of a GPS-based navigation system can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,528,248 and in U.S. Pat. No. 5,943,018. In April of 1995 the system, containing 24 operational satellites, was formally declared as having achieved full capability.
Since then, GPS receivers have gone the way of the Personal Computer (PC) before them. The advance of semiconductor technology has enabled more functionality to be offered in ever smaller and more power efficient packages at even lower costs. Formerly limited by size, power and cost constraints to vehicular mounts for commercial users, GPS receivers have become readily available and increasingly popular as a handheld means of determining location and direction of travel. Widespread use has developed beyond the earlier aviation and emergency services occupations to include people as varied as truck fleet operators, commercial fishermen, farmers and hikers.
Paralleling the development of handheld GPS receivers, but much more apparent to the casual observer, has been the development of the now ubiquitous cellular telephone. Not too many years ago, mobile telephony was restricted to localized operator-assisted paging systems and used primarily by medical personnel and other employees who were “on call”; the carrying of a pager projected an elite status to the one who carried it. In only a few years, cell phones have become so commonplace as to become regarded as a public nuisance, necessitating governmental restrictions as to where and how they may be used. Concerns have arisen over potential health risks related to the power being transmitted from phones held in close proximity to the human ear, and therefore near the brain. Being as yet unproved, the long-term health risks of hand-held cell phone usage have not drawn nearly as much attention as the immediate safety concerns of cell phones being used by operators of moving vehicles. Legislators concerned about traffic safety have banned the use of hand-held cell phones while operating motor vehicles in some states, and many more governmental bodies are considering similar restrictions. Phones offering hands-free operation alleviate most of the problems related to health and safety.
Of course, leading the way in the reduction in size and cost of computing power, the desktop PC has been reduced first to the laptop computer and beyond that to the Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) for handheld personal computing. Initially limited to use as an address book and calendar, the PDA is growing along with other computing devices in its ability to take on more complex tasks. The computer that was confined to the office a few years ago has been put into a coat pocket and taken out onto the street and into the airplane by the business traveler.
Some products have combined the cell phone with a PDA, as in U.S. Pat. No. 5,797,089, which gives a good discussion of related prior art and the Motorola Accompli™ series of products, among others. Davis in U.S. Pat. No. 5,877,724 has shown the merger of a cell phone with GPS, as also has the Garmin Corporation in their NavTalk product line. Inventor Miller showed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,943,018 one means of attaching a portable GPS receiver unit to the underside of a portable computer.
By 1994, Magneti Marelli, a subsidiary of Italian car manufacturer Fiat, had begun selling its Route Planner™ satellite navigation system, specifically designed for car drivers. Within a few years, General Motors had made their OnStar™ service available to motorists as protection in case their vehicle later became disabled. In 1998 Clarion, collaborating with Microsoft, introduced “AutoPC” with its ability to add accessories to support all of the functions of GPS, cell phone and PC, in addition to the audio entertainment that had become expected by many automobile owners and drivers. U.S. Pat. No. 6,374,177 is related to these functions and discusses a system allowing a person to update entertainment selections based on geographic location. A recent report, “Telematics: A Market Study of In-Vehicle Communications, Navigation, and Digital Radio” states that “Although Telematics has begun with operator-based services like those from OnStar™ and ATX, there will be a continual integration of other in-vehicle electronics to encompass entertainment, navigation, and E911 equipment . . . [which] are presently separate electronic systems.” In U.S. Pat. No. 6,083,353, Alexander remarked, “hardware and software hurdles have limited the ability to utilize multicomponent data gathering systems in the field. Connecting equipment such as a GPS, a two-way radio, and a handheld pen computer for use in the field poses a number of obstacles. Many wires and cables work fine on a desktop computer but not on a handheld device.” Further, Thilo Koslowski, lead automotive analyst and research director for the well known Gartner (G2) Group was reported in the Oct. 2, 2002 issue of Wireless NewsFactor as saying, “The results show that the industry is being misled by the idea that they have to push all information systems and replicate the PC experience in a vehicle, which is not a good idea.”